Translucent veneering for a dental prosthesis formed by a press to metal process

ABSTRACT

A dental prosthesis, typically formed in a press to metal process, includes application of a porcelain composition sufficient to form a veneer on a dental prosthesis supporting metal structure, the composition having an integrated tooth-like translucency providing an aesthetic appearance. The composition is formed of a dentin frit and an enamel frit, typically sintered into a desired ingot shape including an amount of composition sufficient to veneer the prosthesis. The porcelain composition is a component of a kit that includes opaquers, other porcelains and stains useful in finishing to provide an aesthetic prosthesis.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of application claims the benefit ofand priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/459,783, filed onJul. 8, 2009, which is a continuation application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/788,600, filed on Apr. 20, 2007, now abandoned,which is herein incorporated by reference for all purposes.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The invention relates to dental prostheses comprising porcelain fused toa metal supporting structure or coping. Particularly, the inventionrelates to prostheses made by pressing a heated ceramic material into amold onto said coping, wherein the mold is typically made by the lostwax process.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A majority of crown and bridge restorations of teeth continue to beporcelain fused to a metal supporting structure or coping that providesstrength for the prosthesis. While “all-ceramic” prostheses are ofincreasing importance, porcelain fused to metal (PFM) remains costeffective and provides satisfactory aesthetics.

Since the metal substructures used in these restorations are notnaturally tooth colored, esthetic veneering porcelains are applied thatmimic the color and form of natural teeth. The veneering process plays acritical role in providing a satisfactory restoration. Typically theprocess of making a PFM restoration requires an opaque layer for maskingthe metal coping; a dentin layer that simulates the color of the toothdentin; and an enamel layer that simulates the transparency and neutralcolors of the tooth enamel. Other materials such as stains are typicallyused to achieve aesthetic effects.

Each layer is typically applied by hand, first requiring mixing ofselected porcelain powders and liquids. The result is subject tovariability and depends upon careful work of a skilled ceramist.Achieving consistent, aesthetic results is time consuming and addssignificant cost to the final product, as well as requiring people whohave a scarce skill and necessary experience.

In a continuing drive to simplify processes and reduce labor costs,methods have been developed to replace the multi-stage porcelainveneering process by a process in which the veneer material is pressedonto the metal support. However, a remaining difficulty has been thatthe initial pressing must still often be followed by a hand layeringwith enamel porcelain, particularly to develop incisal edgetranslucency.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide porcelain materialsand processing methods wherein skilled, intensive, and costly handlayering is further reduced.

The invention is a dental prosthesis that includes a metal coping forsupporting said prosthesis on tooth surfaces to be repaired. The metalcoping is provided with an opaque layer that covers surfaces of thecoping that would interfere with achieving an acceptable tooth-likeappearance of the finished PFM. The opaque layer may be formed from amixture of frits in powder or paste form and applied by spraying, aslurry dip, electrodeposit, or other forms or methods known to thoseskilled in the art. A porcelain layer, having an optimized, integratedtranslucency that blends dentin and enamel shades is fused to saidopaqued surface by pressing the porcelain material onto said copingcontained in a mold at fusing temperatures. The result is a strong andtough dental crown or bridge substructure that is veneered withporcelain having an integrated transparency, blending dentin and enamelcharacter, such that further hand layering processes are eliminated orgreatly reduced.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1. is a cross-sectional view of a dental prosthesis embodyingconcepts of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The invention comprises a dental prosthesis, formed of elements, whichmay be supplied as components of a kit, that provide a porcelain fusedto metal (PFM) restoration, using a pressing process to apply a finishedsurface instead of conventional hand layering of veneering porcelain.The veneering materials of the invention are designed for forming fixedprosthodontics devices that include both anterior and posterior crownsand bridges. Components of the kit, include principally: (1)dentin/enamel ingots having an integrated tooth-like translucency; and(2) opaquing porcelains, in both powder and paste forms, for coveringmetal coping surfaces that would otherwise be visible through theporcelain veneer. In addition, the kit may include enamel effectporcelains and glaze/stain porcelains for finishing the prosthesis, asnecessary.

The veneering kit of the invention is intended for application to a widerange of supporting structure or coping alloys. For example, twocommercially available alloys are non-precious NCM Alpha and Advantage,both manufactured by Austenal, formed into a coping by conventionalcasting techniques, well known to those skilled in the dental arts. Theinvention may particularly be utilized with conventional PFM alloys, forexample, having coefficients of thermal expansion (CTE) of about 14.0μ/m/K at 500° C. As necessary, the components may be engineered byblending compositions and adjusting their expansion properties to meetthe needs of a particular alloy. In general however, the invention maybe utilized with current alloys without the need for a new andspecialized alloy set.

The press to metal process for making PFM restorations is well known inthe art. The invention and its components are readily adapted to thepressing process, providing a significantly improved efficiency to themedium pressure injection molding process.

In the press to metal process, a metal coping is placed in a mold. Thecoping is then coated with an opaquing porcelain which may be in powderor paste form, applied by spraying, a slurry dip, electrodeposit or inother forms or methods known to those skilled in the art. The opaquingis followed by wax-up and spruing to form a desired finished prosthesisform. The form is then invested, preferably in an all ceramic investmentmaterial, and the wax burned out, forming the prosthesis mold. Anappropriate amount of integrated translucency porcelain component of theinvention is then pressed into the mold, typically under the conditionsshown in Table 1 below. The prosthesis is then divested of the moldingmaterial for finishing.

The compositions for utilization in the press to metal process aredesigned such that the prosthesis produced is directly a desired shadematch. Of course, the aesthetics may be modified or improved by the useof small amounts of “enamel effect powders”. These are typically appliedin small sections at desired areas such as incisal edges, cusps, etc.,followed by application of an overglaze or stains, as is well known inthe art.

TABLE 1 PRESSING CONDITIONS Low temp. High temp. Heat rate High temp.Pressing Pressure* 700° C./ 890° C./ 60° C./ 20 min 10 min 4.25 bars1292° 1634 108° F. *for Multimat Touch and Press System, use 2.5 bars

The integrated translucency composition of the invention is preferablyutilized in the form of an ingot, preferably composed of a mixture of adentin frit and a more transparent enamel frit. An example of apreferred frit formula for the ingot, as well as preferred ranges ofcompositions are listed in Table 2. To make the ingot material into adesired white porcelain, it is preferable to add 0.05% of antimony oxide(Sb₂O₃) and a fluorescing agent. The ingots are formed of the desiredfrits, typically in an amount of 2-5 grams, typically by pressing into adesired ingot form, pre-sintering at an initial temperature and furthersintering at a higher temperature. The chemical compositions of theingot white porcelain material together with the two raw frits arelisted in Table 3.

TABLE 2 FRIT FORMULATION OF PORCELAIN INGOT MATERIAL Frit Dentin Frit(Range) Enamel Frit (Range) Weight % 78 (85-70) 22 (15-30)

TABLE 3 CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF INGOT WHITE PORCELAIN (WT %) OxideDentin Frit Enamel Frit Ingot white (Range) SiO₂ 64.5 64.7 64.5 (63-66)Al₂O₃ 10.8 17.2 12.2 (10-14) Na₂O 8.1 2.5 6.9 (5-8) K₂O 9.6 13.2 10.4(9-12) Li₂O — 2.4 0.5 (0-2) CaO 3.4 — 2.6 (1-4 BaO 1.8 — 1.4 (0-3) Tb₄O₇1.8 — 1.4 (0-3) Sb₂O₃ 0.05 (0-1) fluorescing agent 0.05 (0-1) Total 100100 100

The coping opaquer, in powder form, comprises mixing two frits withzirconia (ZrO₂). Preferred compositions and ranges are shown in Table 4and the chemical compositions of powder opaques are listed in Table 5.

TABLE 4 FRIT FORMULATION OF POWDER OPAQUE Frit Frit 1 Frit 2 ZirconiaWeight % 50 (40-60) 35 (30-45) 15 (12-17)

TABLE 5 CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF POWDER OPAQUE (wt %) Oxide Frit 1 Frit 2Powder Opaque White (Range) SiO₂ 64.7 64.5 54.9 (53-56) Al₂O₃ 17.2 10.812.4 (10-14) Na₂O 2.5 7.1 3.7 (3-5) K₂O 13.2 8.7 9.6 (8-11) Li₂O 2.4 —1.2 (0-2) CaO — 3.4 1.2 (0-2) BaO — 1.8 0.6 (0-1) CeO₂ — 1.9 0.7 (0-1.5)Tb₄O₇ — 1.8 0.7 (0-1.5) ZrO₂ — — 15.0 (12-17) Total 100 100 100

An alternative coping opaquer, in paste form, also comprises two frits:Frit 1 and Frit 3, mixed with zirconia (ZrO₂), tin oxide (SnO₂), ceriumoxide (CeO₂), titanium oxide (TiO₂), and antimony oxide (Sb₂O₃). Thefrit mixing formula is listed in Table 6 and the chemical composition ofpaste opaque is listed in Table 7.

TABLE 6 FRIT FORMULATION OF PASTE OPAQUE Frit Frit 1 Frit 3 Zirconia TinCerium Titanium Antimony Weight % 47 (40- 21 (20- 27 (25- 3 (0- 1.5 (1-0.5 (0-1) 0.05 (0-1)

TABLE 7 CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF PASTE OPAQUE (wt %) Oxide Frit 1 Frit 3Paste Opaque White SiO₂ 64.7 64.5 43.28 (42-45) Al₂O₃ 17.2 10.8 10.19(8.5-11.5) Na₂O 2.5 8.1 2.84 (2-4) K₂O 13.2 9.6 8.10 (6-9) Li₂O 2.4 —1.11 (0.5-2) CaO — 3.4 0.70 (0.5-2) BaO — 1.8 0.37 (0-1) CeO₂ — 1.3 1.75(1-2) SnO₂ — — 2.95 (0-4) TiO₂ — — 0.49 (0-1) Sb₂O₃ — 0.5 0.15 (0-1)ZrO₂ — — 26.59 (25-35) Total 100 100 100FIG. 1 illustrates a dental prosthesis employing concepts of the presentinvention, which include a restoration 10 shown to be mounted in placeon a prepared tooth 12. The prosthesis 10 includes a coping 14, which iscovered by an opaque layer 16, which in turn is covered by a singleporcelain layer 18.

What is claimed is:
 1. A dental prosthesis, comprising: an opaque layerbeing formed from a opaque mixture having: 40 to 60% by weight a firstfrit; 30 to 45% by weight a second frit, the second frit being differentthan the first frit.
 2. The dental prosthesis of claim 1, furthercomprising a metal supporting structure or coping.
 3. The dentalprosthesis of claim 2, wherein the opaque layer is covering surfaces ofthe metal supporting structure or coping that would otherwise adverselyaffect the tooth-like appearance of the finished prosthesis.
 4. Thedental prosthesis of claim 1, wherein the opaque mixture furtherincludes ZrO₂.
 5. The dental prosthesis of claim 2, further comprising asingle porcelain layer having an integrated tooth-like translucencyfused to the opaque layer.
 6. The dental prosthesis of claim 5, whereinthe porcelain layer comprises a blend of dentin and enamel frits, inratios of 70:30 to 85:15 percent by weight, respectively.
 7. The dentalprosthesis of claim 2, further comprising a single porcelain layerhaving an integrated tooth-like translucency fused to the opaqued metalsupporting structure or coping surface, the porcelain layer comprising ablend of dentin and enamel frits, in ratios of 70:30 to 85:15 percent byweight, respectively.
 8. The dental prosthesis of claim 1 wherein theopaque layer is applied by hand application using a spatula or a brush,spraying, a slurry dip or electrodeposit.
 9. The dental prosthesis ofclaim 1, wherein the second frit includes at least two of the followingcomponents: CaO, BaO, CeO₂, and Tb₄O₇.
 10. The dental prosthesis ofclaim 1, wherein the single porcelain layer further includes Sb₂O₃. 11.Method of making a porcelain veneered dental prosthesis including asubstructure, comprising the steps of: forming an opaquing ceramicmixture by blending 40 to 60% or by weight a first frit; and 20 to 45%by weight a second frit, the second frit being different from the firstfrit; coating and firing the substructure with the opaquing ceramicmixture to form an opaque layer fused to the substructure.
 12. Themethod of claim 11, further comprising the step of providing in a hotpress furnace means for injecting a ceramic porcelain material into aninvestment mold.
 13. The method of claim 11, further comprising the stepof investing the dental substructure in a mold forming an adjacentcavity for receiving a veneer to be fused to the opaque layer of thesubstructure;
 14. The method of claim 13, further comprising the step ofinjecting, under heat and pressure, into the veneer cavity a porcelainceramic having an integrated tooth-like translucency wherein theporcelain ceramic forms a translucent layer that is fused to the opaquelayer of the supporting structure or coping, thereby forming a finishedprosthesis having a tooth-like appearance.
 15. The method of claim 11,wherein the substructure is a metal supporting structure or coping. 16.The method of claim 11, wherein the opaquing ceramic mixture furtherincludes ZrO2.
 17. The method of claim 14, further comprising the stepof forming the porcelain ceramic by blending dentin and enamel frits, inratios of 70:30 to 85:15 percent by weight, respectively.
 18. The methodof claim 11, wherein the opaque layer is in powder form or in pasteform.
 19. The method of claim 11, wherein the second frit includes atleast two of the following components: CaO, BaO, CeO₂, and Tb₄O₇. 20.The method of claim 11, wherein the second frit includes at least two ofthe following components: CaO, BaO, CeO₂, and Sb₂O₃.
 21. The method ofclaim 14, wherein the porcelain ceramic includes Sb₂O₃.
 22. The methodof claim 11, wherein the opaquing ceramic is applied by hand applicationusing a spatula and/or a brush, spraying, a slurry dip orelectrodeposit.
 23. A dental prosthesis, comprising: a single porcelainlayer comprising a blend of dentin and enamel frits, in ratios of 70:30to 85:15 percent by weight, respectively, wherein the blend of thedentin frit and the enamel frit includes: 70 to 85% by weight the dentinfrit; and 15 to 30% by weight the enamel frit, the enamel frit beingdifferent than the dentin frit.
 24. The dental prosthesis of claim 23,further comprising a substructure for supporting and fitting theprosthesis onto tooth surfaces requiring repair or replacement.
 25. Thedental prosthesis of claim 24, wherein the substructure is a metalsupporting structure or coping.
 26. The dental prosthesis of claim 24,further comprising an opaque layer covering surfaces of the substructurethat would otherwise adversely affect the tooth-like appearance of thefinished prosthesis.
 27. The dental prosthesis of claim 26, wherein thesingle porcelain layer having an integrated tooth-like translucencyfused to the opaqued substructure surface.
 28. The dental prosthesis ofclaim 26, wherein the opaque layer is in a paste form that includes amixture of: 40 to 50% by weight a first frit; 20 to 30% by weight asecond frit, the second frit being different than the first frit; andZrO₂.
 29. The dental prosthesis of claim 28, wherein the mixture of theopaque layer further includes at least one of the following components:SnO₂, and TiO₂.
 30. The dental prosthesis of claim 26, wherein theopaque layer is in a paste form that includes: ZrO₂, and at least one ofthe following components: SnO₂, CeO₂, TiO₂, and Sb₂O₃.
 31. The dentalprosthesis of claim 26, wherein the opaque layer is applied by handapplication using a spatula and/or a brush, spraying, a slurry dip orelectrodeposit.
 32. The dental prosthesis of claim 6, wherein the blendof the dentin frit and the enamel frit includes: 70 to 85% by weight thedentin frit; and 15 to 30% by weight the enamel frit, the enamel fritbeing different than the dentin frit,
 33. The method of claim 17,wherein the blend of the dentin frit and the enamel frit includes: 70 to85% by weight the dentin frit; and 15 to 30% by weight the enamel frit,the enamel frit being different than the dentin frit.